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QUAKER BUSINESS MEETINGS:

HOW FRIENDS MAKE DECISIONS

This document was written and produced by some Friends and
attenders from
Glasgow Quaker Meeting, Scotland, who came
together in an informal group
to explore their experience of
business methods in the Society of Friends.
Version 1, 10 April 1995

The aim of this little booklet is to give you some idea of how
business is carried out at a Quaker business meeting. It has been
written for Attenders and Friends who are new to Quaker business
meetings. Quakerism in all its forms is best experienced rather
than read about; but having said this, there are certain points
on which you can be better prepared if you read this booklet
before you attend your first business meeting.

'Quaker business' is a general term which covers items such as
membership, finance, the concerns of individual Friends in
relation to the Society and its work, as well as relations with
other organisations.

Quaker business meetings are held regularly. The structure is
organised at local level (Preparative Meetings), smaller and
larger district levels (Monthly and General Meetings) and
[regional or] national level (Yearly Meeting). Monthly Meeting is
the principal meeting for business and deals with membership,
property, finance, appointments, arrangements for Quaker
weddings, etc. It is the main link between members and the
Society of Friends [regionally or] nationally.

As you will discover, Friends' business meetings are quite unlike
other business meetings you might have experienced. Their form
differs from that of a debating society or a union or board
meeting. Their form is also liable to vary in detail from one
monthly meeting to another. There is a form to it, but it is a
flexible one, sensitive to the needs of the individual meeting.
Perhaps a Friends' business meeting can be described as an
exercise in attentiveness, in listening to the promptings of the
Spirit. The overriding need is to discern the will of God in the
meeting, and business meetings should be conducted with that
fundamental aim in mind.

The physical setting of the meeting reflects this worshipful
atmosphere. Where possible, the members of the meeting sit in a
semi-circle facing the clerk. The clerk is not in any sense a
minister or priest but is there to help the meeting to articulate
its decision in the form of an acceptable minute.

The meeting begins with silence. When the clerk judges the time
is right, he or she summarises the agenda before the meeting,
provides any necessary background information, and lays the first
item before the meeting. People rise to speak, one at a time.
Each item concludes with the agreeing of a minute of the
meeting's decision. When the business is complete there is
another period of silence. The meeting is formally concluded with
a handshake.

At business meetings Friends tend to adopt certain customs or
modes of behaviour. The following are perhaps the most important
in shaping the form and atmosphere of a business meeting although
not all will be present in every business meeting.

* Everything from the initial silence to the final handshake is
to be regarded as worship.

* We observe silence between individuals' contributions. These
silences are crucial, not only for the period of reflection
they provide; but also because they enable a meeting to
proceed as a gathered body. They act as a brake against one
or more individuals seizing control of the meeting through
rhetorical display, appeal to emotions or other means.

* We try to come to meeting in a prayerful, open state of mind,
so that we may be open to the Spirit. In the meeting, we
strive to lay ourselves open to others' arguments: no matter
how much we may think truth is on our side we must consider
the possibility that we may be mistaken. The true spirit of
the business method is thus one of attentive listening.

* We should not speak until called upon to do so by the clerk.
The usual way to indicate that we wish to speak is to stand
up [or raise one's hand]. In particular, we do not attempt to
speak while the clerk is trying to draft a minute.

* We normally speak once only on a subject unless responding to
a direct question or giving factual information. (We may speak
on another subject if we want, however.) We speak plainly. We
do not speechify, hector or attempt to filibuster. It is
appropriate to speak with conviction or with passion, but not
with prejudice.

* We may express contradictory views, but do not argue with one
another in meeting. We state what we want to say frankly and
briefly without belittling each others' points. The meeting
thus should never become a debating club; nor should the
situation ever arise where we try to interrupt or shout down
another's contribution. Having spoken once to the issue, we
must trust that if further valid points occur to us, others
will raise them.

* If documents are brought to the meeting, they may be referred
to, but should not be read out unless the clerk or meeting
asks for them.

The clerk is the servant of the meeting. He or she is a Friend
appointed to this task but is otherwise without special status.
When an issue has been clearly outlined the clerk may say that it
is now 'before the meeting'. It is then open to any Friend to
speak to it.

The clerk is a recorder of the minute of the meeting, one who
helps those present discern the will of God within the meeting.
The clerk prepares the agenda; and may also introduce an item on
the agenda by summarising it. An assistant clerk sits at the
table to help to read out relevant information. In these
activities the clerks wield considerable power to influence the
way issues are presented to the meeting. Although the clerk faces
the meeting physically, he or she certainly does not either lead
the meeting as a convener or chairperson may, nor express a view.
In discussion, the clerk can pull together and summarise feelings
which are being expressed in the meeting. He or she can act as
shapers of debate, encouraging silent or reluctant Friends to
participate in it. The clerk can also remind Friends when they
are speaking at too great length.

In these activities, clerks require paradoxical gifts of
restraint and fluency, discipline and sensitivity. But perhaps
the greatest test of a clerk's ability to read the collective
mind of the meeting lies in the ability to draw up, at an
appropriate time, the minute which will express the sense of the
meeting to those present and to others beyond the meeting.
Sometimes a meeting cannot come to a decision on an issue;
sometimes the feeling may be strong that a decision must be
reached, but the meeting may be perplexed as to what the decision
may be. In these as in many like situations, the clerk needs to
discern the true sense of God's will.

A minute is composed by the clerk during the meeting, and the
final version is written by the clerk in the meeting where the
members present can ensure the veracity and accuracy of the
minute. A draft minute may be prepared in advance for routine
matters. The agreed minute is never made or altered after the
meeting has finished.

The minute records the decision of the meeting on a given topic.
If it is more than simply a factual recording, the minute will
also indicate the context and reason underlying the decision.
While the clerk reflects on what has been said by those present
and is composing the minute, the rest of the meeting remains
silent. It requires sensitivity on the part of the clerk to
discern when it is appropriate to begin to write a minute.
Similarly, we should be sensitive as to when the clerk wants to
begin writing the minute.

When the minute is drafted, the clerk reads it out to the
meeting, after which those present can begin 'speaking to the
minute.' They might want to question its wording, or perhaps the
way it reflects accurately one contribution but distorts another.
If necessary, the minute is then rewritten by the clerk and
re-presented to the meeting. The agreed item is not generally
opened up for further discussion.

In all cases, the meeting must unite in agreement on the minute,
for the minute should be an accurate recording not only of the
decision reached, but of the collective spirit of the meeting.

Yes. You are welcome to attend. Indeed attenders who apply for
membership are usually asked if they have experience of business
meetings. You should indicate to the clerk in advance that you
would like to attend. Attenders leave the room when Monthly
Meeting discusses membership matters. Occasionally the same
might happen in a business meeting when a matter of great
sensitivity is being discussed.

The following arrangements relate to Glasgow Preparative Meeting
and West Scotland Monthly Meeting and will therefore differ from
place to place.

Preparative Meeting usually lasts about an hour. Monthly Meeting
usually lasts for three or four hours with a break for lunch and
is followed by a sociable tea. General Meeting is usually much
the same but once a year meets for a whole weekend.

If you believe you have something to contribute to a discussion,
stand and remain silent until asked to speak. In a very small
meeting, catch the eye of the clerk and he or she may ask you to
speak. If another Friend is called, or the clerk stands, then
you should sit down again. It is customary to allow a brief
silence between contributions.

Speak clearly. Stick to the point. Be brief. Don't read extracts
from reports or lists of figures. If you feel they are important
ask the meeting if it wants to hear them. It is not necessary to
speak merely to reinforce what someone else has said.

If you are referring to someone who has spoken earlier the
correct Quaker practice is to say 'As our Friend reported' or
'As our Friend Jane Smith has been explaining'. Quakers do not
refer to themselves as Mr. or Mrs. or 'ladies' or 'gentlemen'.

Business meetings are not debates; no Friend has a monopoly of
the truth or is certain to be proposing the best action. Each
Friend who feels led to speak should, concisely and clearly,
give his or her view. It does not matter if this is a different
view from what everyone else has said. It is not good practice,
however, to argue with a particular Friend or snipe at another's
suggestions.

If feelings are running high on a subject, the clerk might
stand, in which case anyone speaking should stop. The clerk, or
any Friend for that matter, might call for a period of
reflective silence.

It is normal practice to speak only once on a subject. There may
be exceptions in the case of a Friend who is making a report on
behalf of a committee or has specialist knowledge on a specific
topic required by the meeting. You can speak on different topics
during the meeting, but Friends who find that they are speaking
on everything should carefully consider whether so many
contributions are appropriate.

Once the clerk has read a draft minute, any Friend can suggest
modifications - but not introduce new business. The clerk will
note what is being said and continue to modify the minute until
all Friends can unite with it.

A Friend who is seriously at odds with the Minute on an
important topic may say that he or she cannot unite with it. The
clerk will ask if that Friend is willing to let the business
proceed nevertheless. The Friend can agree to this, or agree but
have the dissent minuted, or continue to oppose the Minute. The
clerk may in this last case conclude that 'We are not of one
mind' and the business may be carried forward uncompleted.

Friends recognise that the decision has been taken in the spirit
by those Friends who were able to attend and chose to be there.
A properly gathered meeting has taken and minuted the decision,
and this the Friends who were not present will accept, however
surprised or disappointed they might be.

In the case of Preparative Meeting, the clerk and assistant
clerk meet beforehand to draw up the agenda. Some items are
'matters arising' from previous meetings; other bodies locally
or nationally might raise issues which require consideration or
action by PM and there are regular tasks such as appointing
people to particular duties. Often a Friend will ask for
something to be put on the agenda of a future meeting. If the
clerks are not sure whether something should be on the agenda,
they will ask PM for its view.

Discuss it first with one of the clerks. It may be that the
issue should be raised first elsewhere, for example with
overseers or elders, or can be dealt with in a different way.
The clerks will advise you. If your item is going to be on the
agenda, you should make every effort to be at that meeting, and
you might be asked to provide some background. If you are not
sure who the clerks are, remember that it is usually one of the
clerks who read notices at the end of meeting for Worship on
Sundays. Please raise items for the agenda in good time. They
should not be raised in the meeting itself.

[This document is from the Quaker Electronic Archive maintained by George
Amoss.
Ftp users open ftp.clark.net, log in as "anonymous", enter your
e-mail address as the password, and enter "cd pub/quaker". You will then
receive further instructions.
World Wide Web users, go to URL
http://www.clark.net/pub/quaker/web/archive.html.

This document explains Friends' business meeting practices at Glasgow
Meeting, Scotland. While certain elements of that practice will differ at
other Meetings (for example, at Homewood Meeting in Maryland we have a
recording clerk who writes minutes, and we raise our hands to be
recognized by the clerk), this document nevertheless provides a useful
introduction to Quaker meetings for business. I have made a few additions
(items in brackets) to clarify matters for Friends in other areas of the
world. -- George Amoss